


Endless

by 26LetterstoBuildaWorld



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Extremis Pepper Potts, F/M, Hopeful Ending, Iron Man 1, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Pepper Potts as Rescue, The Avengers (2012) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 22:51:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15399285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/26LetterstoBuildaWorld/pseuds/26LetterstoBuildaWorld
Summary: In the beginning she hoped it would stop, but it never would.





	Endless

The first time she saw the Arc Reactor, held it in her hands, it was obvious something important had changed that could not be undone. It wasn’t something she could accept, not quickly and not easily. She helped him like she always did, then told him not to ask again. But he would, and she would do it.

The first time she saw Iron Man, she didn’t realize what it meant. She understood on some level, that there was guilt now coating his recklessness and giving it a different flavor. But there was also a different edge that she hadn’t learned yet how not to cut herself on. She hadn’t even realized the edge was there, until she saw the armor gleaming along his form as he struggled out of it. She cut herself on the gouges in the metal, carved by bullets. She cut herself again later on his words. But he would ask her, and she would do it.

The first time she’d had her life threatened in relation to him was not the encounter with Iron Monger, but it was the first time the danger had been so obvious, not so subtle as words on paper or guns in human hands. A hulking monstrosity bastardized from his mind, and he told her later what Stane had said to him in the quiet of the night while ripping out his heart, holding it in his too large hands. He didn’t ask her to then, but she set a palm over the reactor anyway.

The first time he kissed her was not on the roof overlooking the destruction of the Expo, but it was the first one that she counted. Little lights and pops of destruction, fires still crackling out in the night and he kissed her. She’d slipped under his edges, cutting herself and wedging inside the plates of his armor and she wasn’t yet sure if that’s where she wanted to be.

The first time she set foot in the tower it was raining, droplets running off her heels onto the shining tile that had just been put in. She stood in the lobby and considered this fledgling construct, poised at the foundation of something new. A week later the building was finished, days later it was nearly torn down again. Her fingers ghosted over the missed call.

The first time she met the Avengers she smiled as he flitted around, an excitement that was uniquely his own even as she wondered whether they were here to dull his edges or sharpen them. She had her answer soon enough.

The first time… the first time they were truly alone after Killian. The bed was soft and unfamiliar, he was soft and hard and familiar. She had fire in her skin and he had metal in his blood and they could both hurt each other. He promised they wouldn’t, but she was afraid of him and of her for him.

The first time she held the necklace in her hands, covered in the real edges that had sharpened his. It was beautiful and deadly, like him.

The first time she stepped on a plane with no intention of coming back. He was left silent behind her, he was never silent.

The first time she turned off the news when it mentioned Tony Stark.

The first time she saw him again, after… after. 

The first time she turned off the news when it mentioned the former Avengers.

The first time she held the ring up to the light and watched the colors dance.

The first time she met the Kid. Energy, excitement, brilliance, it was like watching Him without the edges. No… they were just smaller. Duller. She hoped nothing would ever sharpen them. He glanced at her as the kid babbled on between them, and she knew he felt the same way.

The first time he’d gone missing hadn’t been Afghanistan, hadn’t been the Mandarin, hadn’t been New York or Space. Space. It didn’t surprise her, there were no more surprises. It was a promise he’d made recently but she knew the truth. There would be no more surprises, because she wouldn’t allow herself to be surprised.

The first time she saw someone die in front of her wasn’t the ash on the wind, in the streets, in the air and the screech of tires and fire and grief around her.

The first time she felt the metal close around her was years ago as their lives crumbled around them into an ocean. This time the edges and plates were her own, crafted by his hands and his will to channel her fire. Her eyes fixed on the stars as the displays came to life, after everything…

It wouldn’t be the first time he needed a rescue.


End file.
